PHOTOMETRIC STUDY OF THE VERY SHORT PERIOD SHALLOW CONTACT BINARY DD COMAE BERENICES

Abstract

The first photometric solutions of the very short period (VSP) close binary DD Comae Berenices (P = 0(d).26920811) based on our new complete (IR)(C) light curves are derived by the 2003 version Wilson-Van Hamme code. They show that the system belongs to shallow contact W-type W UMa systems with a degree of overcontact of 8.7%. The observed light curve distortions are explained by employing the spots model due to the late-type nature of both components. We have collected all available photometric data about the system with emphasis on the individual observational data, which we treated simultaneously using our own method based on the usage of computed model light curves as templates. We recalculated published times of light minimum and added new ones of our own to construct an O-C diagram that spans over 70 years. Using a least squares method orthogonal quadratic model function, we found that the orbital period of DD Com is continuously increasing with (P) over dot = 0.00401(22) s yr(-1). The period increase may be caused by the mass transfer from the less-massive component to the more-massive one. With the period increase, the binary is evolving from the present shallow contact phase to the broken stage predicted by the thermal relaxation oscillation (TRO) theory. Compared with other VSP systems, DD Com is a rare system that lies on the expanding phase of the TRO cycle. Until now, only four such systems including DD Com are found in this stage. Thus, this target is another good observational proof of the TRO theory in a very short period region.